Repairing the Damage

Miles O'Brien rubbed the fatigue from his eyes, the dim lighting of the engineering room offering little comfort. He had been working non-stop for what felt like an eternity, and his body ached in every limb. The station's systems were still reeling from the recent attack, and as the chief engineer, it was his duty to ensure they were operational as soon as possible. As he worked, his trusty PADD beeped, signaling an incoming message. Miles sighed and set it aside, not wanting to deal with anything that wasn't directly related to the repairs. But his friend Julian Bashir's voice chimed in, persistent as ever. "Miles, come on, take a break! You've been working for 36 hours straight. You need to eat, sleep...do you even remember what a bed feels like?" Miles grunted, his hands moving deftly as he worked on a particularly tricky component. "I'll take a break when the repairs are done, Julian. We can't afford to have the station down for any longer than it has to be." Julian appeared at his side, a concerned look etched on his face. "Miles, you're not a machine. You can't keep pushing yourself like this. You're going to burn out." Miles shook his head, his jaw clenched. "I don't have a choice, Julian. The station needs me. And besides, I've got a team of experts working on the various systems. They can handle it without me for a few hours." Julian snorted. "Experts? You mean the same team that's been working tirelessly for days without any rest? They're just as exhausted as you are, Miles. And what's the point of getting the station back online if you're going to collapse from sheer exhaustion?" Miles' expression softened slightly, but he still refused to give in. "I'll be fine, Julian. I just need to get this one thing sorted out...then I'll take a break, I promise." Julian sighed, shaking his head. "You're not listening to me, Miles. You're not thinking clearly. I'm going to go get you some food, and you're going to eat it, whether you like it or not." Miles opened his mouth to protest, but Julian was already heading out of the engineering room. He watched his friend go, a mixture of frustration and gratitude warring within him. He knew Julian was right, but he also knew that he couldn't afford to slack off, not now. As he continued to work, Miles' thoughts turned to the attack that had caused the damage. Who could have done such a thing? And what had been their goal? The more he thought about it, the more questions he had...and the more determined he became to get to the bottom of it. The PADD beeped again, and this time Miles relented, picking it up to see what new crisis had arisen. His eyes scanned the message, and his expression darkened. It seemed that the problems were far from over...